Interview with writer Dobie Houson

Writer Dobie Houson is here today and we’re chatting about her non-fiction book, Devotion – Humans and Their Four-Legged Soulmates.

Bio:

Dobie Houson is an activist for animal rights, an animal communicator, and the award-winning author of Finding Forever: The Dogs of Coastal German Shepherd Rescue and Four-Legged Wisdom: Sacred Stories from an Animal Communicator.

An ardent activist for animal rescue, Houson is founder and executive director of Finding Forever, a foundation dedicated to raising money and awareness for animal rescue causes through the arts.

A lifelong animal lover, she has worked with dogs, cats, and horses. But it was her desire to understand and connect with animals on a deeper, more meaningful level that ultimately led her to study animal communication, including honing her telepathic skills. She has trained with some of the country’s most respected intuitive counselors and animal communicators and, today, is a sought-after teacher and trainer herself.

A professional communicator and prolific writer, Houson contributed to Why We Ride: Women Writers on the Horses in Their Lives, a popular anthology edited by writer and literary agent Verna Dreisbach.

When she’s not working with animals, Houson serves as director of marketing research for The Ken Blanchard Companies, a global consulting firm specializing in leadership and talent development. Her research has been published in many world-class academic journals.

Welcome, Dobie. Please tell us about your current release.

Devotion celebrates the magical connection between humans and their four-legged soulmates. Written by an animal communicator, this beautiful and heartwarming collection of short stories honors the love, courage, and unbreakable bonds these amazing partners share as they navigate life. Anyone who has ever looked into the eyes of their beloved animal companion and wondered what they were thinking will fall in love with this book. The author, a passionate animal lover, donates a portion of all proceeds to animal rescues and sanctuaries.

What inspired you to write this book?

I love animals and I think they have so much to teach us. I also believe they assist us in ways we never imagined. As an animal communicator, I’m often blown away by their wisdom, honesty and humor. Devotion is my third book and I love meeting new people and writing their stories. But my favorite part is handing their story back to them to review and having them be so touched by what their beloved pet has told me. And I love to give back so being able to animal rescues and shelters who so desperately need funds feeds my soul.

What exciting story are you working on next?

I’m starting to connect with people and scout out stories for my next book which will be similar to my last two – short stories about the amazing connections between people and their pets.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I’ve always written. And I’ve always loved it. I remember when I was about 10 my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I responded that I wanted to be a writer. He sort of laughed and said “You’ll never make money doing that.” And I responded back, “Watch me.”

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

By day, I’m the Director of Marketing Research for The Ken Blanchard Companies. So I do write in my day job but it’s skewed more toward white papers and ebooks and infographics. My research team has won several awards for our academic level papers. It’s a fast-paced place. Our founder is the author of The One Minute Manager. I joined the organization right before the book found its way to bestseller status.

When I’m working on a book I write on the weekends. And once I publish a book I give myself a few months off.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

Probably the fact that I can talk to animals. But I’ve also got a keen sense of humor and love to make people laugh. Often, I cry while I write because as the words flow out of me, they touch my heart and soul.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A writer.

Links:

Website | Amazon buy page

Thanks for being here today, Dobie!

David Berner talks about How the Story of Your Pet Can Tell Your Story

Today’s guest is David W. Berner. He’s doing a virtual book tour for There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard: A Life in Pets. And talks a little bit about that as well as shares a guest post titled “How the Story of Your Pet Can Tell Your Story”.

About the author: 

David W. Berner is a journalist, broadcaster, teacher, and author of two award-winning books: Accidental Lessons, which earned the Royal Dragonfly Grand Prize for Literature, and Any Road Will Take You There, which was a Grand Prize Finalist for the 2015 Hoffer Award for Books. Berner’s stories have been published in a number of literary magazines and journals, and his broadcast reporting and audio documentaries have aired on the CBS Radio Network and dozens of public radio stations across America. He teaches at Columbia College Chicago.

 

How the Story of Your Pet Can Tell Your Story by David W. Berner

I did not want to write a sappy story. I didn’t have a sappy life, I thought, so a sappy story would not do. But this story was about a dying dog? Aren’t those stories supposed to be sappy? Dripping with sentiment? Mushy?

Then I considered what I was really writing about. It wasn’t about the death of a dog but rather about death itself, how we deal with it, how we cope, and what death means in the scheme of life. That was my story, the bigger picture. This was the true, authentic narrative.

There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard: A Life in Pets is a collection of personal stories about pets—my pets, the pets my children had. But it’s far more than that. These are stories that show how pets catch all of us being utterly human. And so when I wrote the first piece for the collection—“Burying Dogs”—the story of a friend’s dying soft-coated retriever, all the dogs that had died before it, and how my parents had dealt with the death of pets by burying all of them, every single one of them, under the turf in our backyard, I quickly realized the story was not at all about the sadness and the tragedy of dead pets. The story was about my life, my family and how death is part of every life, all our lives.

We may write the facts of a story but what we want to reveal in these personal essays is far deeper. In between the lines of fact-based narratives are the real emotions, the very human stories of who we truly are. As writers we must shine a light in the crevices so the reader can see a story’s true significance. This is how a creative nonfiction writer or a memoirist tells a greater, more nuanced tale, a most authentic story.

With the help of my publisher during the drafting stages, I worked the words of the essays in this collection to uncover something bigger than the story itself. It didn’t have to be profound; it just had to be real and honest. It had to tell my story, divulge a deeper truth about me. That’s what personal essays do, and threading in a good pet story could only help to disclose even more of my reality.  

The collection includes stories about dogs, cats, a squirrel, a spider, a reptile, a found turtle, even ants. There are tales of tragedy, regret, and mistakes made. But there are also stories about the love of a parent, the scourge of prejudice, and even the ache of longing. Every pet I have owned carried with it a chapter of my life. With each one I shared a level of curiosity, love, and a touch of melancholy. Not unlike the relationships I’ve had with family, friends, and lovers. Every pet, like every person has brought with it highs and lows, conflict and resolution, loss and discovery—all elements of a good story, my story and yours.

Links:
Print or e-book: Amazon
Print copy only: Dream of Things

 

Interview with humor writer Hy Conrad

Today's interview is with multigenre writer Hy Conrad. We're focused on humor today as he tells us about his book, “Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know,” which he co-authored with Jeff Johnson.

The authors are giving away 5 signed copies of the book - you can enter through the Rafflecopter form at the bottom of the interview. And if you want to increase your chances of winning, follow the tour and enter at other stops!

Bio:

Best known for his work in mysteries, Hy Conrad was one of the original writers for the groundbreaking series, Monk, working on the show for all eight seasons, the final two as Co-Executive Producer. In a related project, Hy was Executive Producer and head writer of Little Monk, a series of short films featuring Adrian Monk as a ten-year-old. His latest TV work was as writer and Consulting Producer for White Collar.

Hy is also the author of hundreds of short stories and ten books of short whodunits, which have been sold around the world in fourteen languages. Hy’s first mystery novel series, Abel Adventures, will debut in 2012 with the publication of Rally ‘Round the Corpse. And his first full-length comedy/mystery play, Home Exchange, premiered at the Waterfront Playhouse in May 2012. He lives in Key West with his partner and two miniature schnauzers. (www.hyconrad.com)

About the book:

Why do dogs eat furniture when there are endless chew toys nearby?  Why do they always dash to a rug when they have to throw up?  And why are they always absolutely starving?

Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know answers the questions that dog owners have asked for centuries. The book is a collection of 115 humorous essays that reveal the truth behind some of the most baffling canine behavior, their hopes and dreams, their grudges and pleasures, and what they really think about us humans.  Peppered with lively, clever stories and visually appealing photographs, Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know is a verbal and visual delight that is laugh-out-loud funny.  If you have dogs, love dogs, or have ever been baffled by a dog, this book is a must-have.

Topics include:

·         My Life in Your Purse by Tinkerbell, the Chihuahua

·         Waiting by the Table (for food scraps, of course!) by Orson, the bulldog

·         The Bed Rules (Rule #1—It’s my bed) by Dimples, the boxer

·         The Reason I Ate the Sofa (leather tastes a lot like rawhide) by Axelrod, the yellow lab

·         I Can Poop the Second I Start My Walk (but choose not to) by Sophie, the cocker spaniel

Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, Target, on e-books and at independent bookstores everywhere.  For more information, go to www.ThingsYourDog.com where you can also ask questions about your own dog’s behavior and learn the secrets they have been keeping from you!

PRAISE FOR THINGS YOUR DOG DOESN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW

“A whimsical delight for dog lovers everywhere, this book will charm and remind readers why they fell in love with Rover to begin with.” (Publishers Weekly Starred Review)

“I laughed, my dog howled.” (Steve Martin)

“This is the perfect book for anyone who owns a dog, has ever owned one, or knows what a dog is. These guys made me laugh out loud—and captured my heart at the same time. The book is simply irresistible.” (Tony Shalhoub, star of the TV series Monk)

Welcome to Reviews and Interviews, Hy. What inspired you to write this book?

The title came first and was, in fact, our inspiration.

One evening, my co-author Jeff and I were watching TV and there was a series of infomercials advertising books like “Things The Government Doesn’t Want You to Know” and “Things the Banks Don’t Want You to Know.”  A seemingly endless number of things we weren’t supposed to know.

At that point, one of us turned to the other and said, “Sure, what about something really useful like ‘Things Your Dog Doesn’t Want You to Know.’”  And that’s how the book got started.

Like many humor books these days, this one began as a blog.  We started posting on the most obvious topics: “What We Do When You’re Gone” or “Sticking My Head Out The Car Window.”

The initial idea was to keep them generic, in a sort of Everydog persona.  But we soon realized that the humor was in the specifics.  It was funnier if the dog had a real personality, and even funnier if we invented a variety of “blogging dogs”, each with a radically different personality.

What exciting story are you working on next?

Jeff and I had always wanted to work on a project together and this was it.

Since then Jeff has been kept busy with running an advertising agency in New York.

As for myself, I’ve always been a writer and recently published my first mystery novel called “Rally ‘Round the Corpse.” This is the first book in a new series (“Abel Adventures”) about a travel agent, Amy Abel, who specializes in adventure travel and subsequently has a few murder-related adventures of her own. “Rally ‘Round the Corpse” will have its own virtual book tour in January 2013.

In addition, I has just signed on to write two “Monk” novels, based on the hit USA Network TV show and published by Obsidian Press.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?

I guess this happened in two phases. I thought I could be a writer when I received my first check and it cleared. I knew I was a writer when it became my sole source of income. A writer, in my mind, makes his living from writing.

Do you write full-time? If so, what's your workday like?  If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?

I usually sit down around eight a.m. I start with the hardest thing on my schedule, usually a new chapter. Later, when the creative energy sags, I switch over to re-writing or blogging or other necessities. (The current time, FYI, is 4:31 p.m.).

For decades I’ve treated writing as my job, so keeping a disciplined schedule is no longer a problem.  It also helps that I have no hobbies and no real life.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

When I write, I need to be alone, but not totally isolated.  If I could, I would hire someone just to sit in the next room and not say anything. That would be perfect.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child, my first goal was to fly and rule the world. My second was to go to the Academy Awards and win in every category, including animated short subject and best sound editing. I think my biggest disappointment came when I realized I was too old to be the youngest “anything” anymore.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?

Jeff and I had a blast writing this together. Our goal was to make it full of humor but with a little edge. Sweet without being sentimental. For four months, we got up every day and talked about dogs and swapped paragraphs and laughed a lot. It was a great experience and we hope that readers can appreciate all the fun and energy we put into it.

Thanks for being here today, Hy. I love starting off the week with a laugh or two. Best of luck with your tour!

a Rafflecopter giveaway